Air Force struggles to keep pace with explosion in the use of combat drones

CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — Under a searing desert sun, a man in silhouette is pacing sentry-like around a cluster of buildings, a dark object slung over his shoulder.

“Yeah, it looks like a gun,” says an American drone pilot, peering into a gray-tone screen in a darkened, distant trailer.

The pilot, who Air Force officials asked be identified only as Capt. Bert, is talking to ground headquarters through a headset. He then counts off the half-minute until one of the drone’s Hellfire missiles strikes its target, throwing the man to the ground with a flash of light.